Books @ Leadership Network

Do You Love Your Vision of Christian Community More Than Christian Community Itself?

The issues of "leadership" and "community" are huge topics and hot buzzwords in Church today and one only needs to visit a bookstore to peruse the countless book titles in these areas.  Feeling a little overwhelmed I decided to return to a classic book in this area by one of the most amazing theological minds...Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  And re-reading this book has reminded me more and more of why I love Bonhoeffer, and the important lessons we can learn from him.  Life Together is Bonhoeffers thoughts and reflections during and about his time at Finkenwalde.

Two things to keep in mind as you continue reading this post:

1. I read this book on my Amazon Kindle.  This isn't a post about the Kindle, but I do want to tell you that I love it. It's an amazing tool.  At this point I only have downloaded the Bible (NIV), Life Together, and Groundswell on it.  I've also downloaded some sample books and I have been reading blogs on it.  It's quite awesome to go anywhere and have so many books on one unit.
2. Bonhoeffer says some remarkable things, so this post is going to have a couple of very long quotes.  I hope you don't mind, and I do hope they give you pause for reflection.

One of the more interesting sections of the book is on the topic of community, leadership and "wishful thinking" and it is quite convicting for those of us who are leaders in our Church community, or for those of us who wish our Church was something different than it is.  Bonhoeffer says this about our ideas on community:

On innumerable occasions a whole Christian community has been shattered because it has lived on the basis of a wishful image.  Certainly serious Christians who are put in a community for the first time will often bring with them a very definite image of what Christian communal life [Zusammenleben] should be, and they will be anxious to realize it.  But God's grace quickly frustrates all such dreams.  A great disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and, if we are fortunate, with ourselves, is bond to overwhelm us as surely as God desires to lead us to an understanding of genuine Christian community.  By sheer grace God will not permit us to live in a dream world even for a few weeks and to abandon ourselves to those blissful experiences and exalted moods that sweep over us like a wave of rapture.  For God is not a God of emotionalism, but the God of truth.  Only that community which enters into the experience of this great disillusionment with all its unpleasant and evil appearances begins to be in God's sight, begins to grasp in faith the promise that is given to it.  The sooner this moment of disillusionment comes over the individual and the community, the better for both.  However, a community that cannot bear and cannot survive such disillusionment, clinging instead to its idealized image, when that should be done away with, loses at the same time the promise of a durable Christian community.  Sooner or later it is bound to collapse.

Wow!  I would say we are all guilty of wishing our Church community was something different that it is...at least at times. 

How often do we lose the chance at a durable Christian community, because instead of weathering the ups-downs, trials and foibles of community we instead try to make it something else and it eventually collapses?

Bonhoeffer then goes on to close out his chapter in this section by saying this:

Every human idealized image that is brought into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be broken up so that genuine community can survive.  Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest, and sacrificial. (bold emphasis mine)

As leaders in our Church communities do we love our image of the Christian community more than the Christian community itself?

Have we ever paused to stop and reflect upon whether or not our vision and ideas for the community we lead is actually a hindrance to what God wants to accomplish through those in the community?

There are many books out there on Church community and leadership, but if you could only read one book I would recommend this one.  No one says so much in such a small book as Bonhoeffer.  He will have you stopping on every page and re-reading each section carefully so as not to miss anything, and to be quite sure about what he is saying.

Have you read this book before?  What did you think of it? 

If you haven't read it before, are you now interested in reading it?  Why?

Special event: Voices of the Missional Movement

                        

Special One-day Event: Voices of the Missional Movement

A new generation of church leaders is emerging to show the way. These innovators understand that in changing times the church must reach out with greater creativity, clarity and cultural relevance than ever before. The church needs a new voice to effectively engage our society with the timeless truth of Christ.

Leadership Network authors are helping to create that new voice.

Join Leadership Network on September 8th, 2008, to hear from 5 missional church thought leaders: Reggie McNeal, Neil Cole, Earl Creps, Milfred Minatrea and Eric Swanson. Become a part of the ongoing conversation on what it means to have a missional focus. Download Speaker Bios.

The event will be held at Leadership Network (2626 Cole Avenue, Suite 900, Dallas, Texas 75204).

The registration fee is $89 per person, includes lunch. Register online before August 25, 2008. Space is limited! (75 participants maximum.)

Click here to register now >>

               

                        

Special One-day Event: Voices of the Missional Movement

A new generation of church leaders is emerging to show the way. These innovators understand that in changing times the church must reach out with greater creativity, clarity and cultural relevance than ever before. The church needs a new voice to effectively engage our society with the timeless truth of Christ.

Leadership Network authors are helping to create that new voice.

Join Leadership Network on September 8th, 2008, to hear from 5 missional church thought leaders: Reggie McNeal, Neil Cole, Earl Creps, Milfred Minatrea and Eric Swanson. Become a part of the ongoing conversation on what it means to have a missional focus. Download Speaker Bios.

The event will be held at Leadership Network (2626 Cole Avenue, Suite 900, Dallas, Texas 75204).

The registration fee is $89 per person, includes lunch. Register online before August 25, 2008. Space is limited! (75 participants maximum.)

Click here to register now >>

               

The Power of Rubber Bands

If you’re a linear thinker and leader, this book may not be for you. Or perhaps, it was written exactly for you (and me) … as long as we’re willing to stretch and bend and become a little less linear.

The full title of Nancy Ortberg’s new book is Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands: Lessons in Non-Linear Leadership. It is an engaging work on leadership, drawing on her own experiences at Willow Creek and in other arenas, and also on her work as a leadership consultant. To underscore the non-linear concept, the book does not propose a neat formula or framework on how to be the best leader, but simply offers a variety of practical observations.

So what’s the deal with rubber bands? They’re simply a metaphor for the people we’re leading and developing. Stretched too far, they’ll break. But if not stretched enough, they don’t accomplish anything of value. It’s our job as leaders to figure out how to stretch them just the right amount. Chapters such as “The Problem with T-Shirts,” “Stone Ships,” and “What You May Not Know About Mongooses” offer helpful insights into how to do this. As a leader who too often focuses on tasks rather than people, I’m glad to have been challenged to more effectively unleash the power of rubber bands.

Mike Bonem
www.SecondChairLeaders.com

Portable Books This Summer

I can't talk about what I'm reading this summer without mentioning the Amazon Kindle. I have had one for about two months and it is amazing. (This is an unsolicited endorsement) I currently have ten books (including a 1291 page theology book) loaded in it, but it weighs less than a normal paperback. When I want to buy a new book, magazine or newspaper I click on the Amazon Store, make my selection, and normally within two minutes it is loaded onto the Kindle. As an added bonus six of us at Seacoast Church are sharing one account (legitimate use according to Amazon), so we have access to each other's books all the time. If you are a reader you NEED a Kindle.

One of the first books I read on the Kindle was Charlatan- America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam by Pope Brock. (Great first name) Charlatan is the true story of the rise and fall of John Brinkley; a huckster who went from traveling medicine man to one of the most famous "doctors" in the country. Along the way he invented infomercials, popularized country music and almost become the Governor of Kansas. Pope does a great job depicting a time of innocent naivety in America with humor but without condescension.  While Pope doesn't attempt to draw any parallels to similar hucksterism that continues to appear in the American church, the comparisons are obvious and frightening.

A book I am currently reading on the Kindle is Tim Keller's The Reason for God- Belief in an Age of Skepticism. Keller does a great job filling the void in apologetics between Josh McDowell's encyclopedic works and Lee Strobel's more readable but lighter books. Keller takes a philosophic approach to the major questions that every pastor encounters on a regular basis such as "How can God allow suffering?", "How can you believe in only one true God?" and "How can you believe in a God who would send people to hell?" While Keller's answers can be somewhat esoteric and over the common man's head, The Reason for God should be in every pastor's toolkit.

Geoff Surratt
www.geoffsurratt.com

The One Minute Entrepreneur

Here are some insights from The One Minute Entrepreneur :

In the US, 1 million businesses started each year. 40% fail within one year. 80% fail by the fifth year. 96% have failed by year 10.

Primary reason for failure: “they are started by technicians - people who are skilled at something and who enjoy doing that thing…. They make the fatal mistake of continuing to do the work they’re skilled at while ignoring other vital parts of the business.” - Michael Gerber

“We are becoming the average of the five people with whom we are most closely associated…. [We should] associate with people we admire and can learn from.”

“You can get what you want in life if you help other people get what they want.”

“Success occurs when opportunity and preparation meet.”

“Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivating environment for your people.”

“The best management includes day-to-day coaching that catches people doing things right and redirects their efforts when they are off base.”

“The wrong leaders can send you off in directions you don’t want to go. The right leader at the right time can help steer things in the right direction.”

“You can’t predict the good that can come from helping or forgiving someone.”

To determine your aptitude as an entrepreneur, take a free assessment at www.estrengths.com (the site mentions a cost, but it still appears to be free)

For books about spiritual entrepreneurial leadership, check out Erwin’s books An Unstoppable Force and Chasing Daylight as well as Mark Batterson’s book In a Pit With A Lion on a Snowy Day.

For a free teleseminar on "Catalyzing Community" go to www.ericbryant.org.

Summer Reading - the thick books

I try to use the summers for reading those “big” books which for me means those that are so heavy that I don’t want to carry them around in my bag. You know the 600 page plus ones. The ones you don't want to lug plane to plane.

And my second bias for summer reading is to choose Leadership Biographies usually presidential or British Prime minister affairs.

This year I have indulged in several and will post a full blog post on one later. I will also share some comparisons to those read last summer.

The primary read in the past few weeks was Michael Kourda’s – Ike, the biography of Eisenhower. Kourda’s book was one of the most readable of the long format biography’s but spent most of the pages in the time leading up to World War II and the long sections on the war. Ike’s presidency and post presidency got short shrift. The longer post later will share some lessons from reading that one.

It's now in paperback so lighter to lug around.

I also finished Roy Jenkin’s noted Churchill biography. It is longer, denser and very detailed. I have read several over the years and I would label this one as the most complete but also the hardest to follow. If you want to enjoy a Churchill biography, do Martin Gilbert’s one volume one instead.

David McCullough’s Truman I actually listened to unabridged on tape on a recent long car trip with the family. We all enjoyed hearing the author read his story of Truman. While I think the author tells a good story and there were some enlightening thoughts about Leadership in succession, I didn’t pick up as many significant learnings as from the others.

Conrad Black’s Roosevelt I read about this same period of history. I read this one a few years ago. It is over 1000 pages but I think very thorough, readable and gets a sense of Roosevelt. I will say that after reading it I wanted to visitHyde Park,New York and the other sites associated with this president.

Roosevelt was an odd leader though. I guess we can learn from negative lessons as well as positive. It’s now out in paperback but this is one heavy book.

Other presidential bios in previous summers included the Edmund Morris books on Theodore Roosevelt, one of the forgotten presidents that really shaped the foreign policy views of our country at the turn of the last century.

I will comment on one common thread throughout all the books. Much of the writing is based on the diaries of the leaders. They used these diaries to bear their souls and frustration about their times, their colleagues and enemies. I am sure that while many political leaders at the highest level may still keep diaries, most of us do not.

I don’t think our blogs will capture things as well as our diaries. Diaries, by their private nature, help us to express more intimate thought.

 The other tool the biographers use is the voluminous letters that were written among friends in those days. I know today we tend to use email but much of that will be lost to historians.

Review: Revolutionary Communicator

This is the second of the reviews from our "Great Book Giveaway."

Before we get to that, I will say I had some trouble shipping the books. I used some old envelopes and apparently several tore open in the mail and the volunteers received empty, torn envelopes and no books. I am trying to get them some suitable replacements AND I have purchased some new padded envelopes for future distribution. Sounds like a Seinfeld episode.

Anyway here is the second review. The book "Revolutionary Communicator" was one of the most requested. This review was written by Ryan Brymer of Grapevine, Texas.

Jesus and Communication

The full title of this book is The Revolutionary Communicator: Seven Principles Jesus Lived to Impact, Connect and Lead. I was a bit put-off by this as it seemed to be leveraging the name of Jesus to sell a business book. The first few chapters of the book are packed with great stories and examples of the principles that the authors are suggesting. Among these stories are references to the life of Jesus and scenes in which he embodies these principles. However, it appers that only about 20-25% of the content in these chapters has anything to do with Jesus. To be fair, the final chapter and conclusion really hone in on the life of Christ and his example.

Communication as Lifestyle

What I got out of this book was nothing like what I expected going in. The table of contents really gives no clue to what one is about to read. The principles that are suggested seem obvious to communication including: attentiveness, asking questions, and storytelling.

While this book has a lot to say about how we communicate, the real thrust of these principles is a suggestion of how we are to live. In a very real way I would place this book up beside Foster's Celebration of Discipline as a book about spiritual life long before I would place it in the business (even Christian Business) section of the bookstore.

For the authors, communication is not something that occurs in a vacuum when a person sets foot on stage or behind a microphone. In their estimation, everything that we say or do is communication and that for it to be of real value, it has to come from a life lived with purpose.

They come to the conclusion that the reader could attempt simply to leverage these principles into their own communication with some success. The authors' real desire, however, is that their readers will not just model Christ in what they say, but in how they live life.

Review: Lead Like Jesus

I am starting to get some reviews back from our volunteer "winners" of the Great Book Giveaway.
I will soon post another list of free books but here is our first review.

Jesus was a servant leader and we are to be like Jesus. But what does it mean to be a servant leader in today’s wealth and power driven society? Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges tackle this question in their book Lead Like Jesus.

“Leadership is a process of influence. Anytime you seek to influence the thinking, behavior, or development of people in their personal or professional lives, you are taking on the role of a leader.” That definition qualifies all of us as leaders in some aspect of our lives, whether we are a pastor, parent, teacher, CEO, coach, or friend. We all influence others, our actions and attitudes determine whether that influence is positive or negative.

Other leadership books differentiate between self-serving and servant leaders, but in Lead Like Jesus we learn the heart, head, hands, and habits of each, along with practical ways to challenge and grow more like Jesus. Blanchard and Hodges describe how we can lead others along a learning stage from novice to apprentice to journeyman and finally to master, facing and overcoming issues and obstacles at each stage.

Jesus wanted those around him to succeed. He had vision, values, and purpose, he stated them  clearly, and did all he could to see they were carried out. “Jesus modeled the heart of a true servant leader by investing most of his ministry time training and equipping the disciples for leadership.” One of the greatest challenges leaders today face is training and developing new leaders. We read in this book how Jesus empowered and gave ownership to those around him, concerned more with their success than his own. We all say we want to raise up leaders, yet too often pride and/or fear interferes, either on the part of the leader, or by the one being led. Developing the relationships to eliminate this enables leadership with integrity and success and is one of the things that Jesus did best.

Lead Like Jesus is a book that can be used by individuals or by leadership teams. The practical key points, questions, and applications foster accountability and discussion. The book concludes with “Next Step Tools” that challenge and can be revisited time and time again. Jesus is the greatest leader of all time and Jesus calls us to be servant leaders. Lead Like Jesus is a tool that can help guide us toward that goal. It will make a difference in your leadership and in those you influence.

Rindy Walton
Walls Down Church--church planting team
http://rindywalton.com

free webinar - Build a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church

Join Mark DeYmaz this Wednesday, July 9, for a webinar sponsored by Leadership Network titled, Why You Should and How You Can Build a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church. Participants will be linked live by phone and able to participate with the interactive screen observed from their own computers. Reserve your seat now!

The free 1-hour webinar starts at 3:00pm Central (4:00pm Eastern / 1:00pm Pacific.)

Based on his experience in planting, growing, and encouraging ethnically diverse, Christ-centered communities of faith, Dr. Mark DeYmaz will host a webinar on the topic of his latest book entitled, Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church: Mandate, Commitments and Practices of a Diverse Congregation. Through this webinar, learn how to articulate the New Testament vision, discuss current needs, and define the mission of a multi-ethnic church in a clear and concise way for others. In addition, Mark will unpack the seven core commitments of a multi-ethnic church, generate practical ideas toward their implementation, and discuss common obstacles and ways to overcome them if the dream is to become reality. 

This webinar is designed for church planters as well as pastors seeking to revitalize churches in decline or to transform healthy but otherwise homogeneous churches around the multi-ethnic vision. Like the men of Issachar (I Chronicles 12:32), participants will leave with a better understanding of the times and more fully comprehend why DeYmaz believes the most effective way to advance the Gospel in the 21st century will be through healthy multi-ethnic churches. Involvement will inspire those who believe the kingdom of heaven is not segregated to create local churches on earth that will not be either.

Mark DeYmaz is founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas and author of Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church (published by Jossey-Bass and Leadership Network).

Hope you'll join this webinar!

-- DJ Chuang, Leadership Community Director at Leadership Network

Getting Real About the Soul of Christianity

Just when Christianity began to deal seriously with the secular world, secularity as a religious perspective died. It is as if Christian and secular leaders had been sparring with each other for years and finally sat down for a serious conversation. The video cameras were rolling, the sound crew was ready, and the audience waited. Each made opening remarks … and then the secular leader died. The crew packed up, the audience left the room … but the Christian leader is still their debating with a corpse about issues nobody cares about.

This is why The Soul of Christianity by Huston Smith (Harper San Francisco, 2005) is an important book, although it has not received much attention from clergy (many of whom are still debating a dead corpse without an audience). With his remarkably comprehensive style, Smith reviews the plight of our major cultural institutions now that modernity’s major metaphor (“endless progress through science-powered technology”) has perished. At that time, Bill Gates had yet to leave Microsoft for philanthropic service, but then even Bill Gates is just catching up to the spiritual and existential flight from a one-dimensional modernity of his own creation.

The first chapter of the book describes the essentials of Christianity’s two-tiered worldview of the infinite embracing the finite. Smith admits (what I always feel) that the principles of Christianity, stated simply, seem esoteric. That is because most people emerging from the demise of secularity are so profoundly exoteric. Three consecutive generations have been raised, educated, and acculturated to perceive the macro-world of experience to be concrete, and the micro- and mega-worlds of the mind and universe as abstract. We can’t even read the memoirs of our great-grandparents and see a difference. Most people before, and increasing numbers of people today, appreciate the esoteric because they sense that this is actually more “real” than the supposed reality of secularity.

Confused? Let’s just say that while exoteric church leaders waste time exploring the historicity of Jesus and the legitimacy of sexuality, esoteric pagans have moved on searching the distant stars and the inner heart for the meaning of life and the touch of God. There is more authentically religious conversation happening in the local coffee shop than in church worship on any given Sunday. Ouch!

Smith’s summary of the Christian story may miss lots of profound nuances and cultural applications, but it is not intended to be a systematic theology. It just enumerates the key points in the Christian story where pagan (non-secular) interest and Christian (non-dogmatic) insight intersect. Relevant preaching to the secular world, and relevant preaching to the emerging pagan world, are two very different things. Among other things, it ain’t preaching. It’s conversation.

Finally, Smith broadens the “conversation” about “esoteric things” to include three distinct Christian voices … not just American Protestantism which is often the most strident voice. Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians have a voice, too. Each of the three bring their own insights into the conversation about incarnation, that mystical intersection of infinite and finite so crucial for salvation, profoundly defined (but not confined) by the experience of Jesus the Christ.

I read this book along with several religious articles from major magazines, including “Turning Away from Jesus: Gay Rights and the War for the Episcopal Church” by Garret Keizer in the June 2008 issue of Harper’s Magazine (pp.39-50). Smith helped me understand why the debate about sexuality reveals a church at is exoteric worst. Ideological rivals beat each other up developing an opinion about sexual behavior in which nobody is really interested. Meanwhile, the general public is hoping the church can function at its esoteric best to help them find the meaning of life and experience the touch of God.

Keizer poses a great question for a post-secular time: “How does a Christian population [or western people in general] implicated in militarism, usury, sweatshop labor, and environmental rape find a way to sleep at night?” That is the legacy of dead secularity and its myth of endless progress through science-powered technology. The answer lies in the Soul of Christianity.

Tom Bandy
www.easumbandy.com
www.netresults.org